TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Taiwanese scientist has captured video of the tiny organisms that create "blue tears" around the Matsu Islands.
Chiang Kuo-ping (蔣國平), a professor at National Taiwan Ocean University's Institute of Marine Environment and Ecology, said the bioluminescent phenomenon is caused by single-celled algae called Noctiluca scintillans or sea sparkle. They lack pigmentation, cannot undergo photosynthesis and have luminescent spots on their surface.
Chiang told Taiwan News that the blue bioluminescence is triggered by external disturbances in the environment, such as waves crashing against rocks or human movement. This explains why blue tears can be seen in bays and harbors of the Matsu Islands in Lienchiang County and Kinmen County.
(NTOU photo)
Chiang said it is unknown when the term blue tears was first used, but it was popularized on the internet in recent years. An alternative name is "clove water," as fishermen in Matsu found that a fish species called clove prefers to feed on sea sparkle.
The optimal viewing season for blue tears is late March to early July when water temperatures are below 27 degrees Celsius and there are ample nutrients from Fujian's Minjiang River, especially silicate. Chiang said blue tears can appear in large quantities due to an algal bloom of sea sparkle.
Chiang said the presence of blue tears is linked to the water levels of the Minjiang River. From April to June, the river has high water levels that carry nutrients into the waters around the Matsu Islands.
(NTOU photo)
These nutrients spur the growth of diatoms, microalgae that are the main food source for sea sparkle. Dormant gametes of sea sparkle become activated by the nutrients and reproduce rapidly.
Chiang said sea sparkle are "harmless dinoflagellates that do not produce any toxic substances." He also said there are no known cases of fish dying from oxygen depletion due to a blue tears algal bloom.
Chiang said the waters around the Matsu Islands are "an ecologically rich and nutrient-abundant estuarine region." He said the presence of blue tears is a "normal marine ecological phenomenon."
Blue tears under a microscope. (Chiang Kuo-ping's research team photo)
(Lienchiang County Government photo)
Taiwan's ‘blue tears’ under the microscope https://t.co/QZgRCCvNct pic.twitter.com/xYs7KzWIf1
— Taiwan News (@TaiwanNewsEN) June 2, 2023
